Valve rotating device



April 14, 1959 c. H. ALLEN 2,881,745 VALVE ROTATING DEVICE 4 Filed Sept. 5, 1957 f rg-/ 8 3g 37 ze auf 313 2P United States Patent() VALVE ROTATING DEVICE Clifford H. Allen, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Thompson Products, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September 5, 1957, Serial No. 682,105

' 4 Claims. (Cl. 12S-90) containing the garter spring between the inside diameter of a spring collar and the outside diameter of a step on the valve-locking member or retainer body. By virtue of lsuch provision, the assembly operation is simplified and is consequently less costly. The garter spring is simply inserted into the spring collar after the spring washer has preceded it. The locking member or valve collar is then placed over the retainer body and rolled or crimped to retain assembly.

A forming or machining step is also completely eliminated without loss of function by the elimination of the annular groove.

It isvan object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a valve-rotating device comprising a reduced number of simplified parts.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a valve-rotating device which is quickly and conveniently assembled and in which all of the components are properly positionedat different sequential stages of assembly.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a valve-rotating device which can be manufactured without requiring special forming or machining operations to provide a spring retainer means. I

Many other features, advantages and additional objects of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making referenceto the detailed description which follows andthe accompanying sheet of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment of a valve-rotating device incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a valve-rotating device provided in accordance with the principles of the present invention showing the valve completely lifted from the seat and illustrating at the broken away portions the components of the valve-rotating device at the end of a valve-rotating period;

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view takenvgenerally on line H II of Figure 3 and shows the components of the valve-rotating device in a relationship with respect to one another similar to that when the device is at the start of a typical valve-rotating cycle; and

Figure 3 is a plan elevational view with parts broken away of the valve rotating device shown in Figure 2.

As shown on the drawings:

Although the principles of the present invention are of 2,881,745 Patented Apr. 14, 1959 lCe general utility, a particularly useful application is found in connection with the provision of valve-rotating devices. It is highly desirable to provide means for rotating engine valves since cyclic rotation of the valves during the course of operation thereof assists in eliminating valve-burning, as well as wearing, pitting and stem-galling and scoring.

The valve-rotating device of the present invention is of the type utilizing spring means such as, for example, a garter spring 10 providing a plurality of helically wound coils and disposedbetween two planar surfaces of axially adjacent, relatively rotatable parts provided respectively by a valve cap or locking member 11 and a valve spring collar member 12. The parts are normally restrained against relative rotation by a spring washer 13 which simultaneously engages both parts and which functions to transmit normal spring loading between the parts. Thus, when load is applied to one of the parts tending to press the parts axially together, the coils of the spring 10 will support such load even though it be great because each coil carries a portion of the load which is directed transverse to the normal axis of the helically wound coils. f

If the restriction against relative rotation between the 'parts is removed, the spring 10 will be transversely compressed by virtue of the tilting action of the coils falling forwardly and backwardly. The relative translation of the opposite sides of each respective loop or coil will rotatably drive the relatively rotatable parts.

According to the principles of the present invention, the valve spring collar member 12 is particularly characterized by the provision of an annular side wall 14 and a bottom wall 16 which is offset radially inwardly of the side wall 14, the bottom wall 16 being flanged as at 17, thereby to provide a pilot portion adapted to be received inside of the coils of a valve spring 18. One end of the valve spring 18 is thus bottomed against the outside surface 19 of the bottom wall 16.

The opposite end of the coil spring 18 is bottomed against an engine part 20 in which is carried a valve stem guide 21 slidably supporting a stem 22 of a valve having a head 23 controlling a valve port 24. The head 23 has a tapered portion 26 which seats and engages against a correspondingly tapered valve seat 26a provided at the mouth of the port 24.

The locking member or valve cap 11 is particularly characterized by the provision of a generally cylindrical body portion axially tapered to provide a bore 27 through which the stem 22 passes. It will be understood that the valve cap 11 is locked adjacent the end of the valve stern 22 by means of a conventional locking member, the details of which are not necessary to an understanding of the principles of the present invention.

At the top end of the cylindrical body of the valve cap 11 thereA is provided a generally radially outwardly extending ange 28 providing a first radial surface 29 concentrically disposed relative to the valve axis. The surface 29 provides an annular bearing area against which is engaged an inner peripheral edge 30 of the bowed spring washer 13.

An outer peripheral edge 31 of the spring Washer 13 engages against an inside surface 32 formed on the bottom wall 16. The interengagement of the edges 30 and 31 of the spring washer 13 between the collar member 14 and the valve cap 11 restricts the parts against relative rotation and also functions to transmit normal spring loading of the valve spring 18 `between the collar 14 and the valve cap 11.

The iirst surface 29 terminates in a generally axially extending curved surface 33, the curvature 4of which approximates generally the curvature of the coils in the spring means 10. It will be noted that the generally axially extending surface 33 is so formed and so located assumeY on the valve cap 11 as to be spaced radially inwardly of an inside surface 34 of the side Wall 14, thereby containing the garter spring between the inside diameter of the collar 14 and the outside diameter of the step or shoulder provided by the axially extending surface 33 on the valve cap 11, and tall necessity for a specifically machined or Specilically formed groove to receive the garter spring 10 is eliminated.

The axially extending surface 33 terminates in a radially extending planar surface 36, which surface 36 provides an annular bearing area for engaging against the top ofthe coils of the spring 10.

The assembly operation of the device is extremely simple and is consequently inexpensive. The garter spring 10 its simply inserted into theI spring lcollar 14 after the spring washer 1,3 has preceded it, whereupon portions of the side wall 14 are offset radially inwardly `as at 37, for example,

by rolling or crimping to retain the assembly after the valve cap 11 has been placed over the spring 10. In this connection, it will be noted that the step or shoulder provided by the axially extending surface 33 functions as a pilot portion and serves to guide the valve cap 11 into the convolutions of the spring 10, thereby insuring proper assembly of the components without requiring special means to keep the garter spring 10 in place while preparations are being made t0 complete the assembly.

In Figure l, there is shown a rocker arm 38 engaging against the end of the stem 22 for purposes of actuating the spring. When the valve 23 is pressed open and off of the valve seat 26, the increased amount of axial force which increases due to the compression of the coil spring 18 will apply greater and greater pressure between the outer edge 31 of the conical spring Washer 13 and the spring 18 until the conical spring washer 13l begins to atten out. When this occurs, the inner edge of the conical spring washer 13 is raised oil of its seat on the rst annular surface 29, as shown in Figure l, thus relieving the restriction against rotation which is ordinarily imposed between the valve cap 11 and the collar 12 by virtue of the interrelationship effected by the conical spring washer 13.

The restriction against rotation having been relieved, the individual coils of the spring 10 tend to be transversely compressed or tilted over. In other words, the normal disposition of the individual coils in the position of Figure 3 is at an angle which approximates the helix angle of the spring 10, but when the individual coils tip or are tilted, the coils are disposed at a much greater angle, as shown in Figure l so ya relative rotation will occur between the collar 12 and the cap 11 by virtue of the driving action imparted between the parts.

When the coils of the spring 10 tip over with respect to one another, the transverse thickness of the spring 10 is also diminished whereupon the axial spacing dimension between the spaced radial surfaces of the collar 12 and 4 the cap 11 is lessened, thereby permitting receding of the inner and outer edges 30 and 31 of the spring washer 13. Consequently, the valve cap 11 and the collar 12 will be locked against further rotation until the valve spring 18 is further compressed and the cycle repeated.

Although various minor mgsications might be suggested by those versed in the art, it should be understood that I wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such modifications as reasonably and properly come within theA scope of my contribution to the art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a valve rotating assembly, a valve cap comprising a cylindrical body portion having a radially outwardly extending ange at one end thereof stepped to form an annular shoulder, a spring collar having axially spaced portions extending radially inwardly of said ilange, and shiftable means comprising a garter spring embracing said shoulder and confined between said flange and said spring collar.

2. In combination, a spring collar member having a side wall and a bottom wall, a spring washer having its outer edge engaging against the inside of said bottom wall, a garter spring on said spring Washer, and a valve cap member having a generally cylindrical body portion with a radially outwardly extending ange at one end, said flange having formed thereon adjacent its outer periphery an outer radial surface forming an annular bearing area engaging said garter spring, said outer radial surface terminating in a shoulder having a generally axially extending curve` surface approximating the curvature of the coils of said garter spring, said shoulder being insertable into said spring, said shoulder having an inner radial surface spaced axially of said outer radial surface and engaging the inner edge of said spring washer.

3. In a valve rotating assembly, inner and outer relatively` rotatable parts comprising a valve cap having a cylindrical valve stem engaging portion and forming said inner part, a ilange at one end thereof, said ange having a step thereon forming a shoulder at the inner edge of said ange, a coil garter spring closely embracing said shoulder, said garter spring having its coils engaged at one side against said ange and on the opposite side operatively engaged against said outer part.

4. In a valve rotating assembly as defined in claim 3, said shoulder having a generally axially extending curve surface approximating the curvature of the coils of said garter spring.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

